Lottery money to help pupils learn West Lothian's history

West Calder High awarded money by Heritage Lottery Fund

A West Lothian school has received a grant of £4000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop pupils’ knowledge of local history.

West Calder High School will use the money to fund a project which will give pupils the opportunity to connect with their local industrial heritage and find out about the life
and work of James Young and his connections to David Livingstone.

West Lothian has been designated as a Priority Area for the HLF.

The
fund aims to sustain and transform a wide range of museums, parks, historic places, archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions through innovative investment in projects with a lasting impact on people and places.

The
school sits in the former grounds of Limefield House, which was owned by James Young from 1855, and it is hoped that the project will allow students to better understand his work and its impact on their local history.

Some of the grant money will be used to take pupils to the Almond Valley Heritage Centre and the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre, Glasgow, to help expand the pupils’ knowledge of the shale oil industry and their local connections to it as well as allow them to develop a deeper understanding of David Livingstone’s life and work in Africa.

Pupils
will also visit Limefield House and the Polbeth Community Walk in order
to better understand where James Young lived and where David Livingstone visited and stayed.

The
Community Walk will also take pupils past Limefield Falls, built as a miniature replica of the Victoria Falls, to show James Young what the real Victoria Falls, discovered by his great friend David Livingstone, looked like.

Funding will also be used to buy video cameras, and provide film-making training, enabling pupils to produce videos of what they learn.

These
videos will go online to allow the public to access these by scanning QR codes placed in strategic locations throughout the local community.

They will also be available to borrow on DVD from local libraries.

Head
teacher of West Calder High School, Fiona Rowland, said: “This grant will really enhance the school’s Livingstone-Young project.

“We
are looking forward to creating resources which will benefit not only the pupils, but the local community and visitors to the area in future.

“I’m sure it will help our pupils take a genuine pride in their local heritage.”

Depute
Leader of West Lothian Council, Cathy Muldoon, added: “We are delighted
that this project has secured funding from HLF. It is a very worthwhile
project which will allow students to connect with their local heritage.”